TEDxKids@Chiyoda

TEDxKids@Chiyoda’s 2014 stage design

For their 2014 event stage, the team at TEDxKids@Chiyoda had a lot of requirements. What could complement their theme “Unknown Colors,” be sustainable, environmentally friendly and keep the attention of hundreds of kids? Yarn, it turns out.

The team fit their stage with thousands of strands of yarn, carefully arranged in colorful patterns that stretched from floor to ceiling, tied to the event’s theme. “We wanted the kids to experience the vividness and the beauty of such colors, and we put that wish into the free-form collection of yarn,” says organizer Ryota Aoki, whose team took over an abandoned junior high school gym to arrange about 3,000 strands of yarn for the set, which was lit by different colored lights as the day progressed.

After the event, all of the yarn used was donated, Aoki says. “[The yarn was] resourced to be used in craft activities at after-school care facilities, in kids’ finger knitting workshops hosted by yarn artists, as materials for kids’ art schools, and for knitting by residents of the Tohoku area, as part of the Tohoku reconstruction aid program. It gave me great joy to receive the opportunity to see the decorative yarn at our venue be transformed into new shapes by the hands of children and the residents of Tohoku region.”

TEDxBratislava

TEDxBratislava’s 2014 stage design

To represent their 2014 theme, “Festival of Ideas,” TEDxBratislava’s design lead, Jozef Dobrík, created a language of symbols, representing the ideas to be shared on the stage — everything from science to design. “Symbols worked as an alphabet of the festival,” says Dobrík. “The aim was to show that the ideas from different areas can join and inspire and create something new.”

The alphabet was used on all event materials (see their program here) and came to life on the stage. Stage designer Katarína Cermanová worked to create 3D representations of the alphabet onstage and arranged them around the boundaries of the stage.

TEDxMarrakesh

TEDxMarrakesh’s 2015 stage design

For their fourth event, the team at TEDxMarrakesh looked to their city to inspire their stage design. “We are in Marrakesh, the red city, full of culture, craftsmanship and traditions,” said organizer Andrea Kolb. The stage worked to both represent their city and frame the ideas shared onstage, from insights culled from traditional Moroccan storytelling to innovations in local healthcare.
Look out for more great TEDx stages soon!

About TEDx Innovations

TEDx Innovations is a blog celebrating creativity and innovation in TEDx communities around the globe. From design to tech to social activities, the TEDx Innovations blog highlights the best of the best worldwide.
To learn more about TEDx, visit www.ted.com/tedx